Paul Schell dies at 76; Seattle mayor during WTO protests

Former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell, shown in 1989, has died at 76. (Associated Press)

Times staff and wire reports

Paul Schell, former mayor of Seattle, has died at 76

Former Seattle mayor Paul Schell, 76, who led the city during the World Trade Organization protests in 1999, died Sunday at a Seattle hospital, city officials said.

No cause of death was disclosed.

Schell, who served as the city's mayor from 1998 to 2002, had also been a Seattle port commissioner, community development director and interim dean of the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

He was "a great city builder," current Mayor Ed Murray said.

While mayor, Schell championed developments that included the city's modernistic downtown library, branch libraries, community centers, renovation of the Seattle Center Opera House and increased funding for parks.

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Charles Royer, his predecessor, said Schell "got more done than any first-term mayor has a right to expect."

However, his term was marred by street clashes at the WTO conference and an allegedly heavy-handed response by police.

Two years later, the city suffered another black eye when a Mardi Gras riot in Pioneer Square left one man dead and scores assaulted. Police were criticized for not doing enough to stop the violence.

It was also during Schell's tenure that the aircraft giant Boeing announced the move of its corporate offices from Seattle to Chicago.

Born Paul Schlachtenhaufen in Pomeroy, Iowa, on Oct. 8, 1937, Schell graduated from the University of Iowa and Columbia Law School. In 1967, he started practicing law in Seattle and 10 years later ran unsuccessfully for mayor.

After winning the post in 1998, he failed to win re-nomination in a 2002 primary.